


Natasha Romanov Cares

by Justaseck



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Caring Natasha, Natasha Romanov & Tony Stark Friendship, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Protective Natasha Romanov, Sick Tony, natasha romanov - Freeform, tony stark - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 10:16:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16763134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justaseck/pseuds/Justaseck
Summary: Natasha knows that Tony is sick and takes care of him.





	Natasha Romanov Cares

**Author's Note:**

> I'm all about Tony and Natasha being friends. And so I will make it so. 
> 
> Kudos and comments are appreciated a thousand times over. Seriously, you don't know how amazing it is to see those hearts. Thanks for reading!

Tony knew that Natasha knew. Because she always knew. So he wasn't surprised when she came silently walking out of the elevator to his floor. He was clutching a mug of steaming tea, trying to remain upright as he sat on the couch. He hated the taste of hot tea but he'd try anything to get over this stupid cold. 

He gazed blankly at her as she looked him over. Humming, she quickly walked into the kitchen. He could hear the fridge being opened and pots rattling. She soon walked back in, glaring at him. "You have no groceries in this place. How do you survive?" 

He pointed weakly at the coffee machine. "That's all one needs in this life, Red." His voice was gravelly. Rolling her eyes, she headed back to the elevator. "I'll be back. Don't go anywhere." 

Like he could even if he wanted to. He settled back into the fog and pain that his lungs were insistent on dragging him through. 

It seemed like seconds, or maybe it was minutes, before he heard the elevator bringing Natasha and what looked like ingredients for soup back to his floor. He shivered as she walked past him into the kitchen. And of course she noticed, because two seconds later, a blanket landed in his lap.

He barely had time to process this new development before she was back in the kitchen, softly singing in Russian. He was on the brink of sleep, and the comfort of knowing someone was there, able to take care of anything that would bring him harm pushed him over the line and tumbling into a dreamless sleep. 

He remained semi-upright. His lungs wouldn't allow anything else, and even then they wheezed in protest.  
Natasha checked on him after setting all the ingredients out for vegetable soup. She smiled as she saw him give in to sleep. She knew he was in pain. The arc reactor caused any sickness to be potentially deadly.

Not that Tony Stark would ever admit to it. No, he would simply disappear for a bit, but if he wasn't in his lab on a science binge, that left few options remaining. And if he was even hiding from Pepper, then he was either injured or sick. 

Rolling her eyes, she walked back into the kitchen, muttering to herself about stupid engineers being mulishly stubborn. She could spend hours lecturing him on how it was okay to tell someone if he needed something. That he didn't have to wear his masks all the time, always hiding his emotions. That was something Tony Stark didn't do. The world couldn't see him when he was less than perfect. But who knew better than herself the difficulty of lowering one's defenses and letting people in. 

A hand running across his forehead and finishing with a comforting head scratch woke him. A bowl of steaming soup was set on the coffee table. He blearily looked at it, seeming to wonder how it had appeared. "Eat, Tony." A startled cough escaped as he turned to stare at her. 

"Nat! Thought you had left awhile ago. Didn't you leave after complaining about my lack of groceries or did I just dream that?" 

She smiled gently at him. "I came back with actual items of nutrition. You should look up what that means sometime." 

She handed him a spoon. Sitting beside him with her own bowl of soup, she dragged him in a fully upright position. He let out a gasp and a hand flew to his reactor. 

Rubbing the muscles around it his eyes clouded over. Natasha took a few spoonfuls of soup while waiting for the waves of pain washing over him to stop. She carefully watched as his breathing returned to steady, wheezing breaths. 

Without a word, she handed him his soup. He nodded at her. She still said nothing, continuing to eat her soup as his weight leaned against her shoulder. He appreciated her silence in his weakness. Without a stack of pillows, there was no way he would have the strength to keep his body sitting up without help. 

They finished their soup in comfortable silence. "That was surprisingly delicious. Who knew vegetables wouldn't kill you if you eat them?" He joked. 

She smirked, "Amazing, really." The sarcasm was thick as she carried the bowls to the sink. When she returned to the couch, Tony was listing sideways, the support of her shoulder gone. 

He met her gaze, "Thank you, Nat." And because she was Natasha, she knew he wasn't thanking her just for the soup. He was thanking her for being there for him. For caring. "You're welcome." She said. 

She grabbed the remote, mentally questioning why he even had one when Jarvis could control anything electronic in the tower. She settled herself back into the couch, pulling Tony with her. He let out a squeak as she pulled and prodded him into a position that had him leaning his back against her chest, legs stretched out.

The movement led to him having a coughing fit, tears threatening to spill as he struggled to convince his lungs that air was possible to breathe. Natasha patted his back throughout the fit, murmuring to him. She wished she could take away the pain that something as small as a cold was causing him. 

He leaned back heavily against her with a groan. "This sucks." He stated. Nat nodded her agreement. She flicked through the channels, settling on an episode of Firefly. 

She snaked a hand around his arm, settling it next to the arc reactor. He tensed, an automatic reaction to anyone getting too close to the device keeping him alive. She began rubbing gentle circles into the sore, overstrained muscles. Tony let out his breath with a whoosh. 

His body went completely lax as she continued with the massage. He tilted his head up to see her face. She pulled her attention from the screen to meet his gaze.

A smile was on his face, almost loopy with exhaustion. "You're the best." He whispered. "And I'm not just saying that because that feels amazing and you can't ever stop." 

She smiled down at him. Her other hand carded through his hair. "Go to sleep, Tony." She replied. He turned his head back towards the screen with a sigh. She could still hear the wheezing with every breath he took. 

She continued to massage his muscles and wasn't surprised when she looked down five minutes later and he was fast asleep. He had one hand curled in the blanket and the other was clutching the end of her shirt, as if it was a security blanket, insuring she was still there and not a figment of his imagination. 

She was amazed at how he had accepted her trust. To the point where he would fall asleep on her and entrust her hands to be around his reactor with all of his defenses down. She felt a fierce surge of protectiveness flow through her. No one would hurt him if she could help it. 

Because he had taken enough beatings for all of them. And still came out of it on the other side with a quick smile. It wasn't always real, but the fact that he kept trying, and kept attempting made him one of the strongest person she had ever met. Herself included.


End file.
